Structured Abstract Initiative

To support the education community's emphasis on evidence-based decision-making, ERIC has launched a Beta initiative to explore adding structured abstracts to ERIC records. Individuals using the Online Submission System are encouraged to consider submitting a structured abstract, and the ERIC team is also monitoring the use of structured abstracts in the journal and report literature.

What is a Structured Abstract?

Structured abstracts differ from traditional paragraph-style narrative abstracts by including pre-defined headings, or elements, within the body of the abstract. They serve as an overview to the full research study. Key elements can include

• Background
• Purpose
• Research design
• Data analysis
• Findings

Why are Structured Abstracts used?

Structured abstracts encourage explicit, factual reporting, with concrete details about study design and outcomes. They may be used for both qualitative and quantitative research. Structured abstracts give decision-makers and researchers a concise way to rapidly identify, locate, and evaluate education research.

Structured abstracts have been used in scientific and medical fields for several years. They were established to support research syntheses and reduce reporting bias. They are now the predominant type of abstract found in major clinical journals. Many behavioral and social sciences journals are also following the convention of structured abstracts.

ERIC's Implementation of Structured Abstracts

ERIC is evaluating the use of structured abstracts within the ERIC Collection. ERIC invites contributors to provide structured abstracts as they submit their research reports through the Online Submission System located in My ERIC (see Sample Form for Online Submission ). The structured abstract template developed for ERIC contains eleven elements and requires selection of a research design from a drop-down list (see Structured Abstract Elements ).

By participating in this initiative and providing feedback, researchers provide a valuable perspective that will help ERIC refine and improve its initial structured abstract template and Help text. The U.S. Department of Education encourages the research community to work with ERIC to improve overall communication about education research.